Kurt Hossel
Kurt Hossel (26 May 1918 - 29 October 2012) was a German U-boat ace of World War II, and the most successful submarine ace ever, with a career record of 103 merchant ships and five destroyers sunk during 13 war patrols, with a total displacement of 539,364 gross register tons (GRT). Hossel joined the Kriegsmarine in 1937. After a period of training on surface vessels, he transferred to the U-boat service in 1940. However, after a comment made in 1941 about politicians having no business in military affairs, the chances of him ever receiving a command of his own were slim. Political machinations got him transferred to the U-boat base at Penang, Japanese-occupied Malaya, where he was given command of submarine U-178. He found considerable success at sinking merchant shipping in the Indian Ocean, and his career soared. Hossel survived the war and returned to Germany in 1947. Early Life and Career Hossel was born in Dresden on 26 May 1918 to Joseph Hossel (1887-1945) and Maria Hossel (nee Steinkamp) (1894-1945), and attended Naturwissenschaftliches Gymnasium there. He had one sibling, a younger brother named Martin (1920-1944). Upon receiving his Abitur (school leaving certificate) in May 1936, Hossel resolved to join the military to serve his country and provide his parents with financial support. His initial aspirations were to join the SS, but after finding out that Ernst Schneidekamp, a primary antagonist from his school days, was a rising star in that organization, he selected his second choice, which was the Kriegsmarine. He entered naval service as an Offiziersanwärter (Officer Candidate) on 1 January 1937; after undergoing basic military training, he was transferred to the training ship Gorch Fock, and was promoted to the rank of Seekadett (Sea Cadet) on 25 June 1937. He initially served with the surface fleet, being stationed on the light cruiser Karlsruhe from 26 June 1937 to 30 March 1938. He was promoted to Fähnrich zur See (Midshipman) on 1 April 1938, and to Oberfähnrich zur See (Senior Midshipman) on 1 October 1939. He was assigned to the light cruiser Konigsberg on 22 December 1939, and survived that vessel's sinking at Bergen, Norway on 10 April 1940. He returned to Germany aboard the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper. U-boat Service On 24 April 1940, Hossel was assigned to the Unterseebootsschule, and graduated on 24 October''. On that date, he was appointed 2nd Watch Officer of ''U-73, and in August 1941, upon hearing of Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, remarked, : "Politicians should only handle political matters, and let military officers handle military matters. Politics has no place in the military." He was censured for his remarks by U-73 ''s Commanding Officer, ''Kapit ' änleutnant Helmut Rosenbaum. However, the remark made its way to Berlin as well, and discovery that Hossel was not a Nazi Party Member caused the Gestapo to begin watching his family closely. Hossel was promoted to ''Leutnant zur See (Ensign) on 1 January 1942. On 15 July 1942, he was appointed 1st Watch Officer of U-97, and transferred to the naval base at Salamis, Greece. Hossel's service aboard U-97 was regarded as exemplary, and in March 1943 was scheduled to be appointed to U-43 as a Kommandantenschüler (Commander-in-Training), but this was thwarted by his old school antagonist Ernst Schneidekamp, by now an SS-Hauptsturmführer. Schneidekamp used political favors to cancel Hossel's (whom he'd nicknamed 'Bunny' in their school days) appointment to U-43, and then - much to his malicious glee - further wrangled his 'old friend' a transfer to the U-boat base at Penang, Japanese-occupied Malaya on 15 April. Schneidkamp's reason for doing this was he perceived that he and Hossel were both vying for the affections of the same young woman, Ilse Stahm; in reality, Hossel had no interest in the girl whatsoever. Hossel left for his new duty station on 10 May 1943. Großadmiral Karl Dönitz, knowing that the 'request' to transfer Hossel to a station that would seemingly be of no help to his career, helped the young officer as much as he could, given the circumstances. In defiance to the SS, Dönitz appointed Hossel to command of U-178 on 1 June 1943, promoting him to Oberleutnant zur See (Lieutenant Junior Grade) the same date. ''U-178'' '''1st Patrol - 3-29 June 1943 Hossel's first patrol as commander of his own submarine was a supply run from Penang to Bangkok. U-178 departed Penang on 3 June 1943 and reached Bangkok without incident early on the morning of 8 June. With the supply mission completed, Hossel was free to sink enemy shipping. He reversed his course to Penang, traveling south of Singapore and through the Malacca Strait into the Indian Ocean, where he sank nine merchant ships for 37,485 GRT. He returned to base on 29 June and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class. 2nd Patrol - 5 August - 5 September 1943 U-178's second patrol began with some excitement. The submarine was tasked with performing a photo reconnaissance of Columbo, Ceylon, the major British naval base in the northern Indian Ocean. With as heavily-guarded as the base was, Hossel was skeptical that he would be able to carry out his mission safely; he informed his crew en route that he would forgo the reconnaissance mission if he deemed it too dangerous to proceed. The reconnaissance mission was accomplished on 10 August after a harrowing final run-in with U-178 on silent running and the sounds of three patrolling destroyers on sonar. Hossel photographed a Fiji-class light cruiser, two destroyers, and several merchant ships in the harbor before breaking off and heading back out to sea. With the photo mission completed, U-178 turned its search for possible targets, eventually sinking a total of eleven merchant ships for 45,335 GRT. Hossel returned to base on 5 September 1943, and was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class and the U-boat War Badge the same date. 3rd Patrol - 11-29 October 1943 Hossel took U-178 out again on 11 October 1943, being assigned to patrol in an area north-northwest of Australia. After relocating twice more, U-178 returned to Penang on 29 October 1943 after expending all torpedoes on board, having sunk eight merchant ships for 40,772 GRT. This put Hossel's total score at 123,592 GRT, and upon return to base he was presented with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was promoted to Kapitänleutnant (Lieutenant) the following day. 4th Patrol - 29 November - 14 December 1943 For his fourth patrol Hossel was tasked with destroying a heavily-escorted merchant convoy out of Sydney before it could reach Mozambique on the east coast of Africa. Knowing that such an important target would be heavily guarded, and feeling as though he could make a greater contribution to the war effort if he simply continued sinking merchant shipping, Hossel disregarded the convoy attack order and attacked shipping on his own. His theory proved correct when U-178 had her most successful patrol to date, sinking nine ships (including two T3 tankers) for 57,859 GRT. Upon return to Penang, Hossel was called before base commander Korvettenkapitän Wilhelm Dommes - a former commander of Hossel's U-178 - who inquired as to why Hossel had disregarded his assigned orders. Hossel explained his reasoning and produced U-178's log from her last patrol, evidence that strongly supported his theory. Disobeying his assigned orders apparently did not hurt Hossel's career any, for upon the conclusion of his meeting with Dommes, the base commander presented Hossel with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves as well as the Diamonds to his U-boat War Badge. 5th Patrol - 12-20 January 1944 Hossel was again given specific orders for his fifth patrol, being assigned to attack and destroy a British task force as it traveled from Fremantle to Columbo. Knowing that a group of warships would be even more heavily-defended than the convoy he'd been tasked to destroy previously, Hossel again decided to forgo his orders and attack shipping on his own. This patrol proved to be the shortest of his career; U-178 departed Penang on 12 January 1944 and quickly began to find targets. In several attacks over the course of eight days, Hossel managed to expend all of his torpedoes, sinking eleven merchant ships for another 53,443 GRT. Nothing was mentioned about Hossel failing to even attempt attacking the British task force; upon return to port on 20 January 1944, he was presented with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, and promoted Korvettenkapitän (Lieutenant Commander) the following day. 6th Patrol - 22 February - 18 March 1944 Hossel's sixth patrol had a rather rocky start. U-178 was ordered to patrol E of the Maldive Islands, an area which proved to be rather dangerous; Hossel was forced to dodge repeated air patrols and no less than three hunter-killer task groups. What merchant ships he did sight appeared to have highly-trained lookouts, for quite a few targets avoided his attacks; in the period off the Maldives U-178 managed to sink only three ships for a mere 5,826 GRT. After two weeks, a disgusted Hossel ordered U-178 back to the submarine's old hunting grounds in the eastern Indian Ocean. This proved to be a very good decision, for Hossel's luck turned dramatically; by the time U-178 returned to Penang on 18 March 1944, she had sunk twelve merchant ships for 53,120 GRT, the most ships Hossel had ever sunk in one patrol and his third-best tonnage-wise overall. Upon return to base, Hossel became only the second (of what eventually would be three) Kriegsmarine recipent of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. The following day, he was reassigned to command of the brand-new Type XVIII U-boat U-796. U-796 7th Patrol - 21 April - 26 May 1944 Hossel's first patrol in his new submarine got off to a dismal start. Ordered to attack a British naval task force bound from Columbo to Fremantle, Hossel - knowing his boat was new and that his crew were still learning her systems - decided to forgo attacking the warships, as he felt attacking a heavily-defended group of warships with an untried submarine would be highly dangerous. Therefore, he took his boat south of Columbo in search of merchant targets. Success was hampered by abysmal weather, and U-796's lower conning tower proved a disadvantage in heavy seas; the sea constantly washed over the periscope, making observation and attack nearly impossible. Despite these problems, Hossel managed to sink two ships before switching patrol areas to the Bay of Bengal. Here he had better luck, sinking four ships, including two T3 tankers. After returning to the Indian Ocean, Hossel made his first attack against an escorted convoy, and managed to score his first warship kill when he used a homing torpedo to sink the British destroyer H.M.S. Montgomery (formerly U.S.S. Wilkes (DD-75)), then sank two ships from the convoy it was escorting. He returned to Penang on 26 May 1944 (his 26th birthday), having had the most successful patrol of his career to date: seven merchant ships (including four T3 tankers) and one destroyer sunk for 58,554 GRT. This patrol made him the third submarine ace to surpass the 300,000 GRT mark, and in recognition of this achievement, Adolf Hitler made him the first of two recipients of the newest grade of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross: the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. The following day, he was promoted to Fregattenkapitän (Commander). 8th Patrol - 24 June - 12 July 1944 Hossel's eighth patrol was hampered by rough seas and destroyers. Every convoy sighted had at least one escort, and attack approaches were repeatedly spoiled by the escort ships. Rough seas caused Hossel to break off several attacks; in his personal log, he again wrote scathing condemnations of U-796's conning tower design and the length of the periscope: "The conning tower design is completely impractical for successful attacks. The periscope needs to be longer or the conning tower itself needs to be higher. At the current height, the seas completely submerge the periscope if there is even the slightest of swells. That being said, it is not the fault of my beautiful new submarine that she is the way she is...the blame lies solely on her ''verdammt designers, who need a reeducation in submarine design."'' Another rainstorm on 7 July merely added insult to injury; Hossel gave up in disgust and returned to Penang on 12 July with three torpedoes still aboard. It was the worst patrol of his career: only three ships sunk for a mere 15,720 tons. Despite this dismal tally, Hossel was still presented an award; he was awarded the Honour Roll Clasp of the Kriegsmarine - one of only sixty individuals to receive this award - as well as the U-boat Front Clasp in Bronze. One week into Hossel's shore leave, a group of Wehrmacht officers attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler at his Rastenburg headquarters. In the wave of arrests, show trials, and executions that followed, Hossel's 'old friend' Schneidekamp, by now an SS-Sturmbannführer, attempted to implicate Hossel as one of the conspirators. However, even Himmler dismissed this out of hand, as Hossel had been in Penang for the past year and could therefore have done nothing for or against the matter. 9th Patrol - 8-22 August 1944 On his ninth patrol, Hossel's first attack was on a convoy of four ships escorted by a single Clemson-class destroyer. He fired five torpedoes at all four of the ships and then dove deep, hitting and sinking three of his four targets and making a clean escape. A few days later, as he moved to intercept a second convoy, he was surprised when it was attacked by Japanese aircraft, which destroyed two of the merchants and crippled two more. U-796 torpedoed and sank both cripples, as well as the escorting destroyer H.M.S. Whitehead. A few days later, he managed to torpedo and sink a T3 tanker; two torpedoes fired at the escorting Tribal-class destroyer missed, and Hossel was forced to run deep to avoid any counterattacks. Two final attacks on lone merchants served to completely deplete his stock of torpedoes, and he returned to port on 22 August 1944, having sunk eight merchant ships and one destroyer for 30,886 tons. Upon his return, he was awarded the War Merit Cross 2nd Class (with Swords). 10th Patrol - 6 September - 28 October 1944 Hossel's tenth patrol took him across the Indian Ocean, all the way to Cape Town, South Africa. He sank three ships en route to his patrol station, followed by another while on station. Soon after starting his return journey, the waters off South Africa proved to be quite bountiful shipping-wise, when he torpedoed and sank a heavily-laden troop transport. He sank two more ships on his return voyage (including a T3 tanker), before briefly heading into the Bay of Bengal, where he expended his last three torpedoes in sinking another small tanker. He returned to Penang on 28 October 1944, having sunk eight merchant ships for 40,904 GRT. Upon his return to Penang, he was presented with the War Merit Cross 1st Class (with Swords). His revelry on leave was cut short on 19 November, when he was notified by a personal note from Großadmiral ''Dönitz that his brother Martin, an ''Oberleutnant zur See ''aboard the ''Tirpitz, had been Killed In Action a week prior when the battleship was sunk in a Norwegian fjord. 11th Patrol - 5 December 1944 - 2 January 1945 Hossel had considerable success on his eleventh patrol, intercepting several solitary ships and sinking several others right out from under the lone destroyers that were escorting them. He also sank two destroyers: the Tribal-class H.M.S. Ashanti and the older H.M.S. Volcano, the latter while she was speeding to attack his submarine. Hossel expended his last three torpedoes to sink her, forgoing a chance at the T3 tanker she was escorting to keep her from sinking his boat. U-796 returned to Penang on 2 January 1945, having sunk six merchant ships and two destroyers for 32,687 GRT. This patrol put Hossel's career total at 471,639 GRT, making him the most successful submarine ace of all time. Upon return to port, he was presented with the German Cross in Gold and the U-boat Front Clasp in Silver. The following day, he was promoted to Kapitän zur See (Captain). 12th Patrol - 9 February - 8 March 1945 Hossel's twelfth patrol started out excellent; the first three ships he came across were alone, and he sank all three, two of which were T3 tankers. In his fourth encounter, he sank a heavily-laden troop transport after dispatching her escorting destroyer H.M.S. Wayfarer. ''After sinking a further three ships (including a third T3 tanker), he used his last two torpedoes to heavily damage (but not sink) a second troop transport. He returned to Penang on 8 March, having sunk seven merchant ships and one destroyer for 49,595 GRT. This patrol put him over the 500,000-ton mark in terms of tonnage sunk; in recognition of this, Adolf Hitler awarded him the Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross (with Swords). For his part, ''Großadmiral ''Dönitz appointed Hossel Commander of U-boats Far East, and promoted him to ''Kommodore (Rear Admiral Lower Half) on 9 March. Despite holding a position that no longer required him to go out on patrol, Hossel retained personal command of U-796 and appointed Penang's base commander Fregattenkapitän Wilhelm Dommes to act as his second-in-command when he was not in port. 13th Patrol - 26 March - 9 May 1945 Hossel remained in port only eighteen days before departing on his thirteenth war patrol. Success was hampered by the usual rough seas and a few days of bad weather. U-796 took until 12 April to get to her assigned patrol station off South Africa, sinking only two small merchant ships en route. Another small merchant ship was sunk while on station. On 20 April, Hossel - out of respect for Hitler's position as Führer - led his crew in singing "Happy Birthday", before sending a message direct to Berlin: "I and the men of ''U-796 wish you the happiest of birthdays, Mein Führer. ''All of Germany stands with you in these trying times, and we continue to look forward to our inevitable victory." Upon reading the message, Hitler awarded Hossel the Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross in Gold (with Swords), the only instance of the award ever being presented. On 1 May, Hossel and the crew of U-796 received the news of Hitler's suicide and the announcement of Großadmiral ''Dönitz as the new President of Germany from a shaken radioman. Hossel immediately radioed his support to his new leader; Dönitz replied twelve hours later with the news that - as one of his last acts as Commander-in-Chief of the ''Kriegsmarine, he had appointed Hossel as Commander Naval Forces Far East, and promoted him to Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral Upper Half). On 2 May, Hossel made his final attack of the war. His target - which he sank - was a T3 tanker, a fitting end to his career as a submarine commander. This brought his patrol total to 18,052 GRT and his career total to 539,364 GRT. After sinking the tanker, Hossel headed back into the Indian Ocean in the direction of Penang. Although intending - like he'd done on all his other patrols - to stay at sea until expending all his torpedoes, at midnight on 9 May his radioman brought news of Germany's unconditional surrender to the Allies. Knowing how the Japanese treated those who had surrendered (and having no illusions that former allies would not receive the same treatment), Hossel had no desire to subject U-796's crew to such horrors. He therefore ordered U-796 to submerge and head east, in the direction of Fremantle, Australia. On 21 May, U-796 surfaced less than a mile outside Fremantle Harbor and raised a white flag. For Kurt Hossel and his crew, World War II was officially over. Post-War Hossel spent the rest of World War II in Australia, and was allowed to return to Germany in March 1947. He arrived in his hometown of Dresden to find it had been reduced to ruin by Allied bombing raids in February 1945. Thousands of civilians had lost their lives, his parents Joseph and Maria among them. Many of his schoolmates had been killed in the war, or had been taken prisoner on the Russian Front and never heard from again. His 'old friend' Schneidekamp had attained the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel), and had committed suicide in Berlin upon hearing of Hitler's death. The war had taken nearly everything from Hossel, but he resolved to regroup and rebuild. Bundesmarine Service & Marriage Hossel joined the new German Navy, the Bundesmarine, as a Konteradmiral upon its founding on 2 January 1956. He married Greta Meyer in March 1957, sending an invitation to his former commander, Großadmiral ''Dönitz, who had recently been released from his ten-year sentence in Nuremberg Prison. Hossel's wedding was attended by every former U-boat commander and crewman that could make it, and when Dönitz actually showed up, the former ''Großadmiral received a standing ovation from all former Kriegsmarine personnel. Hossel would make it a point to visit Dönitz once a year from that point on, an arrangement that ended only with the Großadmiral's death in December 1980. He and Greta would go on to have three children; two sons (Karl and Martin II) both followed their father into Bundesmarine service, while daughter Maria became a doctor. Hossel was promoted Vizeadmiral on 14 October 1959 and appointed Inspector-General of the Navy the same date. He retired from the Bundesmarine on 1 January 1967 and was promoted to Admiral (Admiral) upon retirement. He was also awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Retirement, Last Years, & Death Hossel continued to be active in veteran's affairs, and attended every reunion he could. He gave countless interviews for books and documentaries, and readily encouraged students of naval history to contact him. He also spoke regularly at the schools near his home, and answered letters from people all over the world. In 1973, he was an interviewee for the British World War II documentary The World at War, and published his memoirs in May 1977 under the title of Grey Wolf of Malaya: the Memoirs of Admiral Kurt Hossel. He attended Großadmiral ''Dönitz's funeral in January 1981 in full ''Kriegsmarine uniform (minus the swastika emblems), and made a return trip to Penang in May 1995 with his family, visiting Fremantle on the same trip as well. In 2000, he and retired Konteradmiral (and fellow former U-boat commander) Erich Topp were consulted in the making of the submarine simulator game Silent Hunter II, and Hossel himself consulted on Silent Hunter III, the U-boat missions for Silent Hunter 4, and finally Silent Hunter 5. He later said consulting on the games was some of the most fun he'd had in years, and personally wrote Ubisoft that he was available to consult on Silent Hunter 6 if the company ever produced it. (Sadly, they never did.) Kurt Hossel died at his home in Dresden at the age of 94 on 29 October 2012. He was survived by his wife Greta (1921-2014), his children, Konteradmiral Karl Hossel, retired Kapitän zur See Martin Hossel II, and Dr. Maria Schroeder, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Promotions Kriegsmarine *''Offiziersanwärter'' (Officer Candidate) - 1 January 1937 *''Seekadett'' (Sea Cadet) - 25 June 1937 *''Fähnrich zur See'' (Midshipman) - 1 April 1938 *''Oberfähnrich zur See'' (Senior Midshipman) - 1 October 1939 *''Leutnant zur See'' (Ensign) - 1 January 1942 *''Oberleutnant zur See'' (Lieutenant Junior Grade) - 1 June 1943 *''Kapitänleutnant'' (Lieutenant) - 30 October 1943 *''Korvettenkapitän'' (Lieutenant Commander) - 21 January 1944 *''Fregattenkapitän'' (Commander) - 27 May 1944 *''Kapitän zur See'' (Captain) - 3 January 1945 *''Kommodore'' (Rear Admiral Lower Half) - 8 March 1945 *''Konteradmiral'' (Rear Admiral Upper Half) - 1 May 1945 Bundesmarine * Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral Upper Half) - 2 January 1956 * Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral) - 14 October 1959 * Admiral (Admiral) - 1 January 1967 Awards *Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (1 January 1941) *Bundesmarine Long Service Award 3rd Class (2 January 1960) *High Seas Fleet Badge (1 April 1941) *U-boat War Badge (1939) **Badge (5 September 1943) **Diamonds (14 December 1943) *U-boat Front Clasp **Bronze (12 July 1944) **Silver (2 January 1945) *War Merit Cross (with Swords) **2nd Class (22 August 1944) **1st Class (28 October 1944) **Knight's Cross (8 March 1945) **Knight's Cross in Gold (20 April 1945) *Iron Cross (1939) **2nd Class (29 June 1943) **1st Class (5 September 1943) * Honor Roll Clasp of the Kriegsmarine (12 July 1944) * German Cross in Gold (2 January 1945) *Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds **3,374th Knight's Cross (29 October 1943) as Oberleutnant zur See and commander of U-178 **358th Oak Leaves (14 December 1943) as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-178 **44th Swords (20 January 1944) as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-178 **10th Diamonds (18 March 1944) as Korvettenkapitän and commander of U-178 **1st Golden Oak Leaves (26 May 1944) as Korvettenkapitän and commander of U-796 * Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany ** Commander's Cross (1 January 1967)